UK workers spending too much time on shadow admin

A new piece of research has found that workers in the UK are spending too much time on shadow admin tasks, which is affecting their morale levels.

This research was produced by Perk, a spending management and travel platform. Its findings show that three quarters of workers devote much of their week to routine admin – with 76% of them claiming this. The average amount of time per week that is spent on that work is nine hours, which is almost a quarter of a standard 40-hour work week. The survey spoke to over 2,000 UK workers as well as 205 managers.

It is not just a matter of the time being spent on those tasks though; it is also the effect on workers. Half of those who took part in the research stated that this admin was the major cause of mental and physical exhaustion. A further 52% said that it made them feel less happy in their jobs.

This has led to a discussion about what companies – and their HR departments – can do about the problem. One possibility is for firms to look at outsourced HR services in Buckinghamshire and elsewhere. Many of those consultancies handle routine admin as part of their services.

Jordan Burke from Nine Dots Development told HR Magazine that:

“Anything that drives employee engagement or job satisfaction down should be a cause for concern.”

He went on to suggest that HR needed to dedicate greater time and resources to admin, while the companies should invest more money in automation.